Sunday, March 24, 2013

Natalie woke us
up this morning with breakfast in bed for her mommy.She said mommy has been working so hard to
take care of daddy she wanted to make breakfast for her. (Since my flu and
bronchitis illness, my bride has been taking good care of me.) Natalie prepared toast with butter and jelly,
coffee prepared correctly with cream and Splenda, and blackberries and
strawberries.The strawberries she even
capped herself.She wheeled the
breakfast place setting to our door using an old microwave cart.It was awesome!I’m so proud of her.

Natalie’s timing
was perfect today as Stephanie was worn out herself.Feeling a bit better myself, I tried taking
care of her some.For lunch I took some
of the berries and made her a smoothie.I got to use my Ninja!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Day two home with the flu has not been fun at all.I dread tomorrow even more as the sore
muscles from all the coughing and hacking is going to be painful and the fever
is draining all my energy.

This is my ‘fast-food’ for the flu menu.My bride has been taking great care of me. Yes, I am the typical male when sickness hits-
I want my mommy and to be pampered.I
guess since I can’t have my mommy, my bride has stepped it up double time. She and Natalie went to the school for the
Book Fair Festivities and ate at the school.She offered to bring me something back, but I said I’d fix something
simple.

This is simple and something I fix when it’s cold and want
soup in a hurry.

Make sure you drink plenty of fluids too!

Ingredients-

2 15oz cans chicken broth (reduced sodium and 99% fat free)

2 large eggs, room temperature then beaten in a small bowl
or glass

2 scallions or green onions, sliced (separate the white
parts from the green)

1 cup or so of sliced mushrooms(I like baby bellas for this)

1 Tbsp. of butter

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do-

In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, add butter and
olive oil.When this is hot add
mushrooms and white parts of the onions.Cook these for about five minutes stirring often.

Add the broth and stir well to get the good bits off the
bottom.Heat to a slow boil and then
reduce heat to medium-low

Give the pot a good stir to get the mixture revolving
well.Slowly add the beaten eggs trying
to keep the stream thin.Once all the
egg is added give the pot another vigorous stir and allow to cook for about a minute or two.

Get your bowl and spoon and dish up half the
contents.Top with a few baked goldfish
crackers or oyster crackers.

Enjoy.* I'm fortunate that my strain of flu is not the "other" brand going around our fair city. I was blessed to not have the "stomach bug". The high-fever, coughing, hacking, aches and pains, congestion and severe headache is the one I got.If you have the "other" brand, you must force the fluids. Just heat the chicken broth alone with some bay leaf in it and allow to simmer for ten minutes or so. Then remove the bay leaf and drink the warm broth in small sips.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

I was the recent benefactor of last month's Food Network Magazine. I found it in my mailbox at Royall Elementary School - Thank You!!

There were several recipes in this publication that will be on the dinner table at Richard's. This post is about a side dish. It was pretty simple, and most importantly - tasty!

Ingredients-

2 cloves garlic (Fresh, smashed; or minced)

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tsp. Olive oil

1 Roma or plum tomato, chopped

1 sprig fresh rosemary

2 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

½ cup water

Chopped parsley (optional)

Salt to taste

Shredded parmesan cheese for sprinkling on the top.

What to do-

Cook the garlic, pepper flakes in olive oil over medium high
heat for a minute.Add the tomato, and
rosemary sprig cooking an additional two minutes.Add the rinsed and drained beans and slightly
smash with a spoon.Cook for five more
minutes.Remove the rosemary and
discard.

Stir in water and parsley and
top with sprinkling the parmesan on top.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

This is a simple
recipe that uses pantry items or can be ‘dressed-up’ with a few extras.Tonight was a simple pantry item night.The origination of the base recipe came to me
from Taste of Home Healthy Recipe Cards. Of
course, I have a very hard time sticking to a recipe, so I made a few
adjustments. It received my bride's approval and even though she was very skeptical at first, Natalie ate her fair share too. Leftovers for lunch at school tomorrow!

Cook the orzo as
per package directions, then drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

While the orzo cooks,
take a large skillet add 1 Tbsp. oil and cook the chicken until no longer pink.

Add the remaining oil to the skillet and add
the garlic and stir well for one minute.Stir in tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, broccoli, seasonings and wine.Bring this to a boil/simmer.Stir in orzo and mix well.Reduce heat to simmer.Continue to stir periodically for 8 ten
minutes.

Serve with
crusty bread.

Enjoy!

A serving is a
large 1 ½ cup serving of the mixture.Each serving is about 415 calories – serves six.

Friday, March 1, 2013

It’s a typical South
Carolina winter this year – Warm days, followed by cold days (for SC that is)
and even a little snow.This weekend we
have a chill in the air again so Natalie wanted some beef stew.So here is a little comfort food for our
chilly weekend.

Ingredients:

1-2lbs. beef
stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes

5-6 carrots,
peeled, cut into bite size chunks

1 lg. sweet
onion, rough chopped (reserve 1 slice to chop fine)

4 stalks of
celery, thick sliced (reserve ½ stalk to chop fine)

4 mushrooms,
sliced

2 cloves minced
garlic

15oz can of
diced tomatoes

1 sprig of fresh
rosemary

1 Tbsp. corn
starch (mixed with a little red wine)

2 Tbsp. flour

1 qt. beef broth

Salt &
Pepper to taste

Olive oil

What to do-

Put meat in a
gallon plastic bag with the flour, toss well to coat.

In a large
frying pan add oil and brown meat over medium high heat.

Meanwhile in a
Dutch oven or large heavy pot, heat a tbsp. olive oil over medium high
heat.Add the garlic and rosemary sprig –
cook for about one minute, stirring often.Add mushrooms, reserved chopped onions and reserved chopped celery to
the Dutch oven and sauté until softened.

Add tomatoes,
broth, celery, and onions to the Dutch oven.Stir to blend, adding salt and pepper to taste.Add browned beef to the Dutch oven.Be sure to scrape and of the flour bits from
the bottom of the pan!

Bring mixture to
a slow boil then reduce heat to simmer and cover.Allow to simmer for 60-90 minutes, stirring
occasionally. The last 5 minutes or so, mix cornstarch in a cup with the red wine, blending well. Pour the mixture into the stew and stir pot. Allow to 'set' and thicken the stew for about five minutes.